Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 4: Akhilesh Yadav, Mahua Moitra and Asaduddin Owaisi Among Heavyweights in Fray; List of Key Candidates and Seats

New Delhi, May 12: Voting on the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be held tomorrow on May 13 which will cover 96 seats across 9 states and one Union Territory. Of the 96 Lok Sabha seats, 25 are from Andhra Pradesh, 17 from Telangana, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from Maharashtra, eight each from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five from Bihar, four each from Jharkhand and Odisha and one from Jammu and Kashmir.

The fourth phase will witness key contests on various constituencies. Leaders such as AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC leader Mahua Moitra, BJP leader Giriraj Singh, JDU's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), TMC leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Yusuf Pathan, BJP leaders Arjun Munda and Madhavi Latha, Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief YS Sharmila will be looking for the electoral success. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: How To Vote, Check Name in Voter List? How To Find Polling Station? Know Everything Here Ahead of Phase 4 Polling on May 13.

Key Candidates And Constituencies in Phase 4 Polls

Baharampur

The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are the main parties that are in a fierce contest in Baharampur. Yusuf Pathan will contest against Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, president of the West Bengal unit of Congress, and the BJP's candidate, Dr Nirmal Kumar Saha.

West Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the current sitting Member of Parliament from Baharampur. Chowdhury has been a strong and influential leader in Baharampur, having secured victory for the Congress party in three consecutive terms from 2009 to 2019.

Former cricketer and TMC candidate from West Bengal's Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency, Yusuf Pathan, said that he was feeling good to enter into politics and he will now be able to solve people's problems and serve them. Speaking to ANI, Pathan said, "It feels good to come into politics from the sports field. I am talking to people. I will now be able to solve people's problems and serve them. This makes me feel good."

Most locals in the constituency agreed that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is not only a veteran but also a local voice for them. Papai Mandal, one of the residents of this constituency, said, "Who is Yusuf Pathan, one of the outsiders? We don't trust him as much as we do Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Not only is he a senior, but he is also a local candidate. If he wins again, he will definitely solve our issues."

Meanwhile, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that people in the constituency are with him. "People are with me. They have have accepted us," Chowdhury said speaking to reporters ahead of filing his nomination.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad is bracing itself for the big showdown between Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Madhavi Latha and sitting All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi for the Lok Sabha election. AIMIM chief is popular in the constituency and has been campaigning from door-to-door, seeking a fifth term in the constituency. He has also raised the issue of political representation and minority rights.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Asaduddin Owaisi from AIMIM won the seat with a margin of 282,186 votes. Asaduddin Owaisi polled 517,471 votes with a vote share of 58.9 per cent and defeated Dr. Bhagavanth Rao from the BJP, who got 235,285 votes (26.80 per cent).

BJP's Madhavi Latha expressed confidence about her prospects going into the election. "I am here at the Exhibition Ground for a convention for our workers ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. I must say that the level of enthusiasm and the involvement of workers--from booth presidents to party leaders at all levels in the state--is remarkable. As many as 3,000 to 4,000 office-bearers and workers are attending this convention today. Their energy and excitement give me the confidence that we will surely win Hyderabad this timem," she said.

Krishnanagar

Trinamool Congress' (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra will face the BJP's Amrita Roy. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, TMC's Mahua Moitra won the seat with 614,872 votes, defeating BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey who secured 551,654 votes. CPI(M)s Dr Shantanu Jha received 120,222 votes. Mahua Moitra was recently expelled from the Lok Sabha.

Begusarai

BJP leader Giriraj Singh is pitted against CPI candidate Awadhesh Rai in the Lok Sabha polls.In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's Giriraj Singh defeated Kanhaiya Kumar who contested on a CPI ticket. Singh got 692,193 votes with 56.48 per cent, while Kumar got 269,976 votes with 22.03 per cent votes.

Giriraj Singh said that NDA is contesting on all 40 seats and that means Narendra Modi is contesting on all 40 seats. "All these seats will go to PM Modi," he said.

Munger

Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) will face RJD leader Anita Devi. In the 2019 elections, Lalan Singh of JD (U) emerged victorious in Munger with a margin of over 1.67 lakh votes, defeating RJD's Neelam Devi, who is the wife of Anant Singh.

Anita Devi, an OBC candidate, the wife of gangster Ashok Mahto who was released in November last year from Bhagalpur Central Jail after 17 years, has been fielded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal from Munger hoping to pocket the community's votes along with votes from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) and Muslims. Lalan Singh has won this seat twice in the past (in 2009 and 2019).

Srinagar

National Conference has fielded Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who will face PDP's Waheed Parra from this seat. Apni Party has fielded Mohammad Ashraf Mir. The seat is currently held by National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah.

Asansol

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal has chosen to wield the star power of Shatrughan Sinha against Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Surinderjeet Singh Ahluwalia from Asansol which will go to polls on Monday.The Bihari Babu of the Indian film industry, Shatrughan Sinha joined TMC in 2022 after a brief stint in the Congress. Sinha quit the BJP in 2019 claiming that the party has become a "one-man show".

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Babul Supriyo, a popular singer, who was then with the BJP, won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat. However, the seat fell vacant when Supriyo joined the TMC. Sinha, who was fielded by the TMC in the by-polls, won the election, winning 56.62 per cent of the polls. Shatrughan Sinha said that magic of Mamta Banerjee is speaking everywhere in West Bengal.

"The work Mamta Banerjee has done for her people and the state, no CM has done that ever for their people. And even the Prime Minister of the country hasn't done anything like this," Sinha had said while filing his nomination last month.

Ahluwalia, the sitting MP from Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency, was not BJP's first choice as the candidate from Asansol. The BJP had earlier chosen Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh against the glitz of Shatrughan Sinha. However, Singh chose not to contest from Asansol after facing backlash from the TMC over the obscene portrayal of women in his music videos and films.

Kannauj

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will face incumbent MP and BJP leader Subrat Pathak.Akhilesh Yadav served as Lok Sabha MP from 2000-2012. He resigned from the Kannauj parliamentary seat in 2012 after he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. BJP candidate from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat Subrat Pathak has written to the District Election Officer (DEO) alleging that the Samajwadi Party has brought in anti-social elements, including those from a "particular community" from outside, with the intention of "disrupting" the election process.

"The people in the region have brought to my knowledge that the Samajwadi Party has brought in anti-social elements, including those from a particular community, from outside Kannauj and the state, with the intention to carry out terrorist activities. Many vehicles and people have come in large numbers from different areas who want to attack the Indian democracy by disrupting the election process," he said.

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav raised serious concerns about the integrity of examinations conducted under the BJP regime in Uttar Pradesh. The renowned socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia was the first MP elected from Kannauj.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also claimed that the ruling BJP party would face a very bad defeat as people of every section were upset with the government. Speaking with the reporters, Akhilesh Yadav said, "BJP is going to have a very bad defeat because farmers, youth, businessmen, people of every section are upset with them."

As per the seat agreement between the Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Congress is contesting on 17 seats and the Samajwadi Party has the remaining 63 seats in the electorally crucial state.

Kadapa

Andhra Pradesh Congress chief YS Sharmila will face sitting MP Avinash Reddy. Sharmila is the cousin of two time sitting MP Avinash Reddy. YS Vijayalakshmi, the mother of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and APCC chief YS Sharmila, has appealed to the people of Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency to cast their votes in favour of her daughter in the upcoming elections.

Vijayalakshmi, widow of former CM of united Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhar Reddy, resigned from the post of honorary president of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and from the party's primary membership in July 2022. Her daughter YS Sharmila is contesting from the Kadapa parliamentary seat as a Congress candidate. "She is contesting from Kadapa district as an MP candidate of Congress. I appeal to all the voters of Kadapa to cast their votes for Sharmila," Vijayalakshmi said on Saturday.

"YS Rajasekhara Reddy was a legendary leader, and he stood with the people till his last day. Similarly, Sharmila will stand with the public," she added. After starting her political venture in Telangana politics, Sharmila merged her outfit, YSR Telangana Party, into the Congress and shifted base to Andhra Pradesh, where she was appointed as the state unit chief.

YS Sharmila sent a radio message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to listen to the "Mann Ki Baat" of the people of Andhra Pradesh."You are not eligible to enter the state until you apologize to the people of Andhra Pradesh," she said. "You have been deceiving the state for ten years, showing hypocritical affection during elections but neglecting development. We are presenting a charge sheet on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh. If you dare, write an affidavit promising to fulfil the commitments made to the people of the state now," the APCC chief alleged.

Khunti

One of the most high-profile constituencies in Jharkhand, and a BJP's stronghold too, will witness a contest between the BJP's Arjun Munda and the Congress' Kali Charan Munda as its candidate. Arjun Munda is the sitting MP from this seat. Historically, from 1962 to 1984, the Khunti Lok Sabha seat saw dominance by the Congress and the Jharkhand Party. However, since 1984, the BJP has emerged as the predominant force in the constituency, winning eight out of 10 elections.

"I prayed that this victory should be that of the public and that there be development for everyone, happiness in everyone's life," the sitting MP of Khunti Arjun Munda said after filing his nomination on April 23. Arjun Munda, a renowned tribal leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), currently serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Khunti constituency in Jharkhand and holds the position of Union Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs.

Kali Charan Munda, who is the son of one of the most influential tribal leaders from Jharkhand T Muchirai Munda was an MLA from the Tamar constituency twice (1992-2000) and also a respected figure amongst the tribal community in Jharkhand. He was the President of the Ranchi District Rural Congress in undivided Bihar from 1997 to 2007, and then became the General Secretary of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress.

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